The 2017 NFL draft is now just days away, which means the long-awaited event is finally upon us. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to issue a mock draft challenge to all of you and give everyone a chance to try their hand at being GM/Owner Jerry Jones for the Dallas Cowboys.
I did this mock draft challenge back in January, but things have changed since then. We should all have a much better understanding of the Dallas Cowboys team needs and the potential prospects they could be targeting.
Of course, we have to establish some kind of ground rules in order for this to be as close to realistic as possible. So, this is how it's going to work.
Using Fanspeak's mock draft simulator you will select the prospect of your choice for the Cowboys in each round. But, here's the catch. You have to draft the player in the correct slotted area for the Cowboys. For instance, the Cowboys have the 28th overall draft pick in the first round, so you can't draft a player that is ranked lower than that.
I personally agree with Matt Miller's player rankings the most, so I used his big board for this exercise. Below is how my Cowboys draft turned out for this mock draft challenge.
Round 1 (28th overall) – Tyus Bowser, DE, University of Houston
Round 2 (60th overall) – Marcus Williams, S, Utah
Round 3 (92nd overall) – JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
Round 4 (113rd overall) – Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
Round 6 (211th overall) – Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State
Round 7 (228th overall) – Avery Gennesy, OT, Texas A&M
Round 7 (246th overall) – Jeremy Cutrer, CB, Middle Tennessee State
I don't know about you, but I would absolutely ecstatic if this is how the Dallas Cowboys draft actually turned out.
Tyus Bowser is a little bit under the radar as a defensive end prospect, but could be exactly what the Cowboys are looking for to improve their pass rush. He is one of the more athletically gifted DEs in the entire draft class and I think he can get anywhere from 6 to 8 quarterback sacks as a rookie.
With the exception of Byron Jones, I'm not a big fan of the safeties on the Cowboys roster. That is why I drafted Marcus Williams in the second round for the Cowboys. He is one of the better ball hawking safeties in the entire draft class and would allow the Cowboys secondary to get really creative with their coverages.
JuJu Smith-Schuster has #1 WR potential and would be really good insurance in case Dez Bryant continues to struggle with injuries. He could compete to play opposite Bryant as a rookie.
In the fourth round I think I got an absolute steal. Teez Tabor looks like a first-round CB on film, but his poor 40 yard dash time is going to drop him in the draft. He could end up being a Day 1 starter for the Cowboys.
The rest of the players I drafted will provide some solid depth and be key backup role players as rookies. Pumphrey would likely take over Lance Dunbar's role, Gennesy will compete to be the Cowboys right tackle, and Cutrer could challenge for playing time as a rookie at CB.
All in all, I personally think this would be an excellent draft for the Dallas Cowboys.
How did your Dallas Cowboys mock draft turn out?
Use the comment section below to share with all of us how you did in the place of GM Jerry Jones.
